Widespread strike by European dockworkers against arms shipments to Israeli occupation

PARIS, Oct. 31 (YPA) – Thousands of dockworkers in Europe and other countries went on strike to protest arms shipments to the Israeli occupation and to demand an end to the war of extermination on Gaza.

Port unions in France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Morocco issued a joint statement rejecting the shipment of weapons to “Israel” and demanding an end to the militarization of ports, stressing that “dockworkers do not work for war and that ports should not be used to transport weapons or military equipment.”

The unions stated that more than one hundred ports joined the protests, disrupting navigation in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North America, with Palestinian flags being raised.

The actions included a strike at the port of Piraeus in Greece, a rally in front of the Haydarpaşa port in Istanbul holding a banner that read “No to war, no to armament,” protests in Genoa, Trieste, and Gioia Tauro in Italy, and a one-day strike at the ports of Le Havre, Marseille, and Dunkirk in France.

Earlier, workers at a French airport tried to block a shipment for the Israeli company Elbit, while several countries have imposed restrictions on arms transfers to the occupation, including Spain, which prohibits ships carrying weapons destined for Israel from docking and in 2024, Spain prevented the explosives-laden ship Marianne Yka from docking in Cartagena.